The End of Week Seventeen

My first thought when starting this today was Janis Ian singing At Seventeen… It is second only to Society’s Child as my favorite of her songs.

And those of us with ravaged faces lacking in the social graces…

There are so many songs out there from my youth that still resonate with me – songs that caused an aha moment and made something crystal clear.

The Unknown Soldier by The Doors, Say It Loud by James Brown, and all of the songs by The Weavers, Woody Guthrie, Peter Paul and Mary… Dylan…Joan Baez… I miss those days of actual radio and shared anthems by a generation we thought could change the world overnight.

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming We’re finally on our own This summer I hear the drumming Four dead in Ohio

The good ol’ days…..

Fast-Forward fifty years and that idealistic youth is now a senior citizen trying to get back into some semblance of shape. And, it’s working – more or less. This week, a bit less.

On Monday, I strained my back on a leg press. I think I’ve mentioned a few times that I can’t touch my toes and my overall flexibility pretty much sucks. I contorted myself into position – but I couldn’t quite seat myself properly – and there went the back. The gym workouts have been a bit less strenuous because of this, so I’m only down a half-pound. On the bright side, that’s pretty good, considering I didn’t cut back on the calories to offset the ones I wasn’t burning.

And… I’m now starting off with ten minutes in the sauna before my warm-ups to further loosen me up, a bit. It’s working – along with a hot pad at home. Who knew that getting healthy could be so painful?!?

One thing that was not painful, however, was tonight’s dinner…

I planned seafood, and I planned grits. I had the last of a bag of Anson Mills Antebellum Coarse Yellow Grits and wanted to use them up. They’re excellent – and not something you want to have hang around because they’re so much better fresh.

To switch things up, I decided that the fish should be something along the lines of a Moroccan-spiced dish. Fusion. With a cabinet full of herbs and spices, I made up a pseudo-Moroccan blend.

Moroccan Spice Blend

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp ginger

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp allspice

1/2 tbsp cloves

Sift all ingredients together. Store in a cool, dry place.

It has a kick to it!

The rest of the dish was pretty basic – leeks, canned tomatoes, raisins, slivered almonds, and parsley with cod chunks served over a very basic buttered grits.

I cut the leeks in large rings and sautéed them – letting them fall apart if they wanted to. Added the spices, then the tomatoes, and the raisins and simmered it all. Next went in the cod, and then the almonds and parsley.

It came out really good. The grits really are spectacular and they were the perfect foil for a spicy fish dish.

I guess I’m just going to have to order some more – after I use up the last of the grits I have from Adluh, that is!

Here’s to the coming week – a less-sore back and a more vigorous gym time!